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STEUBENVILLE - The 2009 River Sweep in Jefferson County will concentrate on the area around the city's marina.

Louise Holliday, Keep Jefferson County Beautiful education coordinator, said River Sweep is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on June 20. Registration will begin at 9 a.m., and work will start at 9:30 a.m.

Holliday said all participants will have to sign a release form. Everyone will receive a 2009 River Sweep T-shirt, and refreshments will be provided after the event, she said.

Last year the River Sweep included Old Route 7 outside Toronto, Toronto's Newburg Landing and Old Route 7 outside Yorkville. But Diane Julio, Keep Jefferson County Beautiful director, said most of the participants came to the Steubenville Marina site. She said the other sites were eliminated this year because of a lack of participation. There were 66 volunteers last year.

Holliday said 150 bags of trash and a 30-cubic yard container were filled with trash last year during the River Sweep. She noted a lot of construction material, rope and plastic foam were found during that River Sweep.

River Sweep, sponsored by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, is an annual riverbank cleanup for the Ohio River and its tributaries.

Throughout the years this nationally recognized event has grown into one of the largest cleanup efforts of its kind, encompassing 3,000 miles of shoreline from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Ill., according to ORSANCO. Each year more than 21,000 volunteers from public organizations, civic groups, recreational clubs and the general public in six states bordering the river come together to collect more than 20,000 tons of trash.

Improved water quality has increased recreational use of the Ohio River and its tributaries, ORSANCO reported, and that increase in recreation produces more litter on the riverbanks, making a yearly cleanup vital.

River Sweep also increases public awareness of water quality and promotes stewardship of the Ohio River and its tributaries.

"This is an excellent project for anyone to go green and do their part for the community," Holliday said.

ArcelorMittal is a major sponsor this year, along with FirstEnergy and Koppers.

Nearly 300 Jefferson County students entered the River Sweep poster contest this year, Holliday noted, and each student received a certificate for participating.

(Law can be contacted at mlaw@heraldstaronline.com.)